ONLINE GAMBLING AND CASINO GUIDE

I tend to go to casinos in runs (Bellagio four times one week, Sahara four times the next, etc), and this week turned out to be no different.

I was at the Rio on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday … and no, it wasn’t to watch people playing Deuces Wild Crazy Fruitcake at the World Series of never-ending obscure games.

In an odd turn of coincidence, I happen to know three separate groups of people who are calling the Rio home until Sunday.  One person is playing in a WSOP event, one person doesn’t stay anywhere else other than the Rio, and the other got a swell deal for this weekend.

Given that Valley View (my favorite route) is completely ripped apart, the only viable way to get in and out of the property for the foreseeable future is Flamingo or the I-15.  This kind of sucks because DI to Valley View is far and away the best way to get to the Rio/Palms/Gold Coast from the east side of the Boulevard, but what can you do.

I’ve always liked the Rio, but I used to like it much more 8 years ago than I do today.  In those days, the waitresses wore thongs and were among the most attractive and most scantily dressed servers in Las Vegas.  These days, they are still attractive, but the costumes are much more conservative and aren’t nearly as inspiring.

The waitresses still hop up on a podium above the gaming machines and perform in frequent intervals, the “new” show is very watchable, and the atmosphere is still very appealing.  Given the extremely liberal use of machine and row lighting, the “look and feel” of the casino is arguably one of the best in Vegas, but the proliferation of 6:5 and mediocre odds on all but the highest limits make the property less attractive to locals than the nearby Palms with regards to table games and video games.

Obviously the poker room is the glaring exception to this rule.  The Rio’s room has far more NL action than does the Palms, and I decided to avail myself of this today.

Although 1/2 NL is my preferred game, in honor of the nearby World Series (and because a seat was open), I went full-blown mack daddy high-rolling pimp and bought into a 2/5 game.   That’s right, I’m living la vida loca.   At this point, I’m only one level away from being a featured player on “Poker After Dark”.

The session wasn’t terribly notable (no old hags yelling at me or douchebags employing selective chops), but part of the reason for this was the brevity of my playing time.  I was extremely fortunate today.  More fortunate than I have been in some time.  On my first hand in the big blind, I grabbed a well-camouflaged full house.   5-2o in the pocket, K-5-2 on the flop, 5h on the turn, and instead of doubling, I damn near tripled.  One opponent was holding K-2o, and another nailed an Ah-3h heart flush on the turn.

The sun shines on a dog’s ass every now and then, and I am if nothing else … a dog’s ass.

Obviously this was pure luck and no skill as, unbeknownst to me, I had an 8% chance to take the hand when I made a modest call on the flop with my weak two pair, but as one guy at the table shrieked when a Queen came off on the river … “That’s why they call it gambling!”.

Why does someone always feel compelled to yell this after every marginal beat?

Anyway, I did what I always do … collected my winnings and left after playing through my small blind (which I mucking immediately).  I believe the entire session clocked in at a whopping ten minutes.

If only it were that easy every time.

Afterward, I decided to celebrate my good fortune by hanging out once again at the Rio Beach.

I contemplated hitting the craps table with my table winnings, but I had a hideous session yesterday with these two friendly looking guys, and decided to leave the Rio an overall winner for the week:

Thank god for the 5 on the turn, because instead of chilling at the beach this afternoon, I would have been following this guy’s lead:

With a good wig, high heals, and the right shade of lipstick, I swear I could make a small fortune on the side.

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